A faded picture.

I really like relationships. Most any relationship, really. Brothers, sisters, friends, best-friends, father-son, mother-daughter, boyfriend-girlfriend, or husband-wife. I take great delight in them. Even when it isn't my own, I get excited. If I see a father taking his son out for ice cream, it makes me happy. That's a relationship working well. If I see a boyfriend do something special for his girlfriend, the same thing happens. It's a relationship working how it was meant to. How God meant for it to.

God built us to be relational beings, and try as we might to deny that and live independently, we know it. We desperately avoid loneliness. We may enjoy being alone occasionally, but we can't survive without other people in our lives.

The ultimate expression of this is in our relationship with God. Everything else is a reflection. An imitation. But that's why I enjoy them so much. I look at earthly relationships and think to myself "Hey! Look at that! That's what it's like with God!! Look how awesome it is! Do you see how much they love each other? It's even better with God!" Our relationships here are only a faded, torn, wrinkled, out-of-focus, black and white picture of our relationship with God, but I think that's a worthy thing to be excited about because it's such a great thing with him, that even the faded, torn, wrinkled, out-of-focus, black and white picture is pretty magnificent.

But, the problem is when I start getting so excited for relationships here that I get too busy to actually pursue one with God.

It's like I'm too caught up staring at this faded picture I'm holding to realize that the real thing is standing right in front of me, waiting and hoping I'll look up and notice Him.